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Black Prius is the most popular

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by JackDodge, May 10, 2006.

  1. JackDodge

    JackDodge Gold Member

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    NBC's Today show had a story on this morning, that I actually got on tape, about the Prius. The tag line, sort of, was "good like trying to get one". They also said that one tip for getting hold of one of these babies is to settle for a white one because the black ones are big sellers. When it gets real hot this summer, I think I'll be glad my Prius is white but I thought that I'd pass that along to the Cool Chicks in Black Prius club :D If I get the time in the next few days, I'll turn the segment in to an mpeg and post it somewhere.
     
  2. bagwell

    bagwell Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ May 10 2006, 12:05 PM) [snapback]252862[/snapback]</div>
    I'm done with dark colored cars......white, glacier frost mica (see it on a lexus), or silver for me.
    I live in Houston, TX so the heat + humidity + 5 minute rain showers = hell for dark colored cars; I went crazy trying to keep a black car clean and wow...talk about hot....ouch. Oh also, they show every flaw in the clear coat.

    but for those that own them....they look great when they're clean B)
     
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the interior temp isn't too bad, comparable to the silver car one of my coworkers drives actually... i have started using a sunshade.

    the paint is an issue, and it's great and horrible for perfectionists like me... i freak out at every imperfection but i keep it very clean :D
     
  4. Rancid13

    Rancid13 Cool Chick with a Black Prius

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    Interior temps are no problem for me either, even on those bright, sunny, 80+ degree California days where it's been parked in the sun for several hours. I've always had black cars, and I have the windows on the Prius tinted nice and dark. It's not any hotter inside my car on a hot/sunny day than it is in my husband's light blue/gray Accord.

    I love my black Prius and wouldn't change the color for anything! And about the paint imperfections, I think they bother the car wash/auto detailing guys more than they bother me. I really don't care that much if there are or aren't swirly marks in my paint. :D

    [​IMG]
     
  5. JackDodge

    JackDodge Gold Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ May 10 2006, 02:10 PM) [snapback]252922[/snapback]</div>
    I've got my windows tinted too and it makes a big difference. The car seems to be about 10 degrees cooler than it was before the tinting.
     
  6. larkinmj

    larkinmj New Member

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    I think that the "Cool Chicks" would be cool even if their cars were chartreuse with magenta polka dots :lol:
     
  7. Rancid13

    Rancid13 Cool Chick with a Black Prius

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ May 10 2006, 11:17 AM) [snapback]252928[/snapback]</div>
    I got the windows tinted about a week after I bought the car; the weather was quite cloudy and drizzly in early February this year, so I didn't really get to experience how hot it could potential get inside without tint. :) And if it is a bit warm when I get in, I simply put the windows down and turn the climate control (usually not A/C~just the vent) up a few notches.
     
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    agreed, tint does make a difference. we had about a month in summer without it. i should say i'm pretty heat intolerant anyway, but it did help.

    now my car gets parked in the shadow of an SUV at home (next door neighbors) and in the shady back part of the parking lot at work to maximize the effect. :)
     
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    On the rare days we see the sun, it's good to have a dark color to soak up some of the heat. B)

    Actually, it's not all that bad in Northern Michigan, but we do get a lot of cloudy days and long winters.

    Tom
     
  10. phoebeisis

    phoebeisis Member

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    Hello to all. We got our Black pk 4 2.5 weeks ago. I've never had a black car before, and I would never have chosen black over white. We live in New Orleans, and just like Houston we have a 7 month summer(April-Oct). However, I do agree that black is the coolest color. It looks like some sort of James Bond/ Spaceship/Stealth/Jetson's car! Of course, every imperfection stands out on a black car, but there isn't much you can do about that.
    I ended up with black because it was the one our local dealer would sell for $23750(OTD was $26,000-we have 8.75% sales tax). It had about 331 miles on it, so maybe it had been on the lot a bit longer.
    I expect that in a month or so Prius will drop back to below MSRP, so folks will have another buying opportunity. The latest gasoline run up caused many of us to buy sooner than we planned to. This should give buyers a break in coming months(assuming no bombing of Iran).Thanks,Charlie
     
  11. JackDodge

    JackDodge Gold Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ May 10 2006, 02:24 PM) [snapback]252940[/snapback]</div>
    Just how northern are you? Still got snow on the ground? :D
     
  12. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    Black may be the most in demand, can't think why, but my informal freeway "poll" shows me that only about 10% are black, at least in sunny CA. I wanted Blue, Silver , 3rd choice white. I got white because it was available, and had the options I wanted, except beige interior, wanted gray. Anyway, white is alright with me.
     
  13. ken_sturrock

    ken_sturrock New Member

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    Interesting. It may depend on the part of the country you're in. In Tampa, we passed on a black prius because I wanted to put a gold "trans am" screaming chicken on the hood and my wife didn't want that :p .

    The dealer had trouble placing the black ones - probably because of the fear of heat. Around here it seems like White, Silver and Blue are the most popular.

    I really like the current red color a lot.

    -Ken
     
  14. momfortheenvironment

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    Funny I'm on a business trip and one of my co-workers told me she saw that this am. I'm looking at blue.
     
  15. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    It rains a lot here so it is near impossible to keep it clean. Luckily I can keep it garaged when I think it is going to rain for a short amount of time. Swiriling is a problem on this car more so than other black cars I've had but not a big enough problem for me to not have a black car
     
  16. stevedegraw

    stevedegraw Member

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    Rancid13 - I'm getting my new Black 2006 tinted tomorrow, Wednesday May 11, did you get 20% on just the rear window or on the rear window and the back seat passenger windows then 30% on just the front driver and "shotgun" window ?

    Also, did you have a metallic tint on the rear window or non-metalic for the GPS ?

    Thanks...
     
  17. larkinmj

    larkinmj New Member

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    I've read articles about the popularity of car colors, and it varies depending on what part of the country you live in. Where I live n New England, silver seems to be the most popular car color. Based on an entirely non-scientific survey of Prii that I've seen on the road, I'd guess that 10% are white, 10% Salsa red, 5% blue, 65% silver and the remaining 10% would be all the other colors (I don't see that many black ones.) I've only seen one other Barcelona red (it is a new color), and that was a week or two ago in Newport RI- anyone here?
     
  18. benighted

    benighted New Member

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    Karnac- I tinted all tintable windows 15%
    It has no affect on GPS reception
     
  19. Rancid13

    Rancid13 Cool Chick with a Black Prius

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Karnac @ May 10 2006, 04:48 PM) [snapback]253165[/snapback]</div>
    I got 20% tint on the rear windshield, and the rearmost 4 side windows (the 2 rear regular-sized windows + the 2 small triangular windows); the frontmost 4 side windows (the 2 regular sized + 2 small triangular windows) I got 30% tint so it's a little lighter and easier to see thru from the outside. I didn't tint the front windshield nor the already tinted lower hatch window. None of the tint is metallic, to my knowledge, and the GPS navigation has worked perfectly (as well as the Bluetooth) since I got the tint.

    Here's a roughly photoshopped picture that might help...

    [​IMG]
     
  20. eak354

    eak354 Member

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    i've got tint but it still gets hot inside for me. my side window visors allow me to leave 1 or all windows slightly open.. :)